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Manchester United are looking to expand their attacking options in the ongoing summer transfer window, and we saw a start of that with the arrival of Matheus Cunha, and now Ruben Amorim is looking for more, and the United Reds are flirting with veteran names like Aleksandar Mitrovic. And while they have Rasmus Hojlund at M16, the links to the Serbians raise a much-needed debate…
The Manchester Reds are said to be one of the clubs interested in landing the 30-year-old this summer, but when you look into the roster at Old Trafford, you will find two of Europe’s high scorers when they moved to United: Jousha Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund. But if we are talking about Mitrovic, he is more of someone whose traits align with the Dane centre forward within Amorim’s ranks. And this is where the question comes in: is Mitrovic an upgrade on the former Atalanta starlet, or is the Serbian just a stylistic alternative to the 22-year-old?
Aleksandar Mitrovic of Serbia looks on during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group G match between Serbia and Switzerland at Stadium 974 on December 02, 2022 in Doha, Qatar.
United want Aleksandar Mitrovic of Serbia. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
Rasmus Hojlund brings more of his youthful athleticism, given how he is always running around, and that does come through well when the Manchester Reds are facing transitions. The Danish international also has that aggressive pressing nature which ends up stretching opponents’ defences, and he tries to accelerate to bypass their channels, so in a way you can use him in more vertical systems which deploy verticality (playing through channels), but then we have seen how he is not great at linking up the play and laying off those passes. But then comes Aleksandar Mitrovic, who (when compared to Hojlund) is a more physically imposing target man and can serve as a reliable outlet when facing intense pressure (like we have seen him do week in, week out at Fulham), and then it’s his knack to find the back of the net (particularly in the box).
Unlike Hojlund, Mitrovic does not have that frame for mobility that the former does, and the Serbian is also not the most intense presser, which does take a lot out of the structure. But he will always bring that experience in scoring consistent goals in the Premier League, and his hold-up play makes him an ideal focal point to release presses.
Hojlund has been struggling at United.
What does Hojlund have over Mitrovic?
The Dane striker is apt when you want to attack vertically (as I mentioned above), and Mitrovic simply cannot come close in terms of pace and off-ball runs to that of Hojlund. And Hojlund is still only twenty-two (22) and has a massive long-term upside to Mitrovic, who is thirty (30), and any time given to the Serbian with Rasmus in the squad would just delay the latter’s development. And lastly, Hojlund is more suited to the off-the-ball responsibilities that may come systematically less aligned to playing with Mitrovic (especially against teams that want to keep the ball).
But then what does Mitro have over the Dane?
First things first, Mitrovic has that ability to hold up the play in the second as well as the third phase of the game, something that Hojlund massively struggles to do. And moreover, he is also more physically elite and knows how to use those to dominate aerially (something that Hojlund has struggled to do against Premier League defenders as well). And lastly, the 30-year-old has a proven, consistent track record in the English top tier, which is a huge upside to Hojlund, who has struggled in front of goal lately.
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So is Mitrovic an upgrade?
Now this is a quite tricky question to come to a conclusion over. The Serbian, from how I see it, is not an upgrade; he is more of a different tool who has different armaments in his arsenal. If we are talking short term, then the former Fulham ace adds a lot of qualities that Hojlund doesn’t bring to the table, but if we are talking long term, then Hojlund definitely has superior potential if we think about the striker he can develop into. So Mitro won’t exactly be a strategic upgrade, but he will be more of a stabilising ship signing.